Process of hulling cotton-seed.



No.- 595.476.. l .1. McFARLANE.

PhocEss 0F' HuLLma comm ssen.

(Applieatiean -led Sept. 3, 1901.]

(No Model.)

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IINTTED STATES PATENT- x -rricla JOHN MCFARLANE, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, SSIGNORv OF ONE-HALF TO DAVID' C. REINOHL, OF VASI-IINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

PROCESS OF HULLING vCOTTON-SEED.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 695,476, dated March 18, 1902.k l

Application filed September 3, i901. Serial No. 74,134. (No specimens.)

To @ZZ whom, t may concern.-

Be it known that LJOHN MCFARLANE,a citi; Zen of the United States, residing at Tashington, in the District ot Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Hulling Cotton-Seed; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to the art of hulling cotton-seed, has for its object a rapid and perfect removal of the hulls from cotton-seed withoutinjury tothe kernel,as a food or other product, or injury to the hulls or the lint forV subsequent use in the arts in which they are commonly used, and consists in certain steps of treatment which will be fully disclosed in the following specification and claims.

Cotton-seed as they comefroxn the gin incased in their hulls and lint or delinted seed are immersed in asolution of alkali, such as potash, caustic soda, or concentrated lye of commerce, properly diluted with water and contained in a suitable receptacle, such as a tank or vat, and permitted to remain in the solution until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom, when the kernels denuded all of their covering except the pericarp rise to the surface of the liquid, where they are collected and removed for subsequent treatment.

The solution is used at a temperature of from 100 to 150 Fahrenheit or more and of astrengthrangingfrom 2 to about 5 Baume and the seed retained in the solution from twenty to thirty minutes or longer, accorcinot more than a year old about 4 Baume is Y preferred, and fresh seed may be treated with a solution of about 2 Baume by increasing the temperature thereof., To eradicate the al kali and remove it from thesurface or extract it from the now-hulled seed or kernels, they ou ghi y cleansed.

are removed from the rece ptaele in which they have thus far been treated and rimmersed in an alkali eradicating and 4extracting solu tion,

preference being given to chlorid of sodium', (common salt,) contained in a suitable receptacle, such as a tank or vat, at a lnormal temperatureandofa strength of about 20 Baume and. the kernels retained in the solution from` twenty to thirty minutes or longer, according to the length of time they have been exposed tothe alkali solution. The kernels, inclosed in their pericarp 0nly,.are then thoroughly Washed in clear water in any suitable receptacle, such as a tank or vat-, when all trace of the alkali and the chlorid of sodium will have been removed andthe kernels thor- The kernels may then A'be removed from the vat and thoroughly dried, as in a drying-room, a kiln, or in a suitable mechanical drier, to which heat is applied at a degree not to seorch or shrink the kernels. By drying the kernels the meat of the kernel becomes hard and prevents the oil oozing out and Wasting. After the kernelsA have been cleansed they may, however, be taken direct to au oil-press or other-means for extracting oil, or they may be dried and subsequently y treated in the usual manner ,for preparing cotton-seed for extracting oil,or, after drying, the kernels may be put in suitable sacks for transportation. The separated kernels or the entire body of kernels, hulls, and lint may be taken direct to a press or other means and the oil extracted therefrom, or the kernels i may be washed and subsequently dried for shipping, or they may be taken directly from the alkali bath and dried, and the hulls and the lint may be baled and subsequently converted into paper-stock or used for other purposes in the arts. lThe hulls and the lint are removed from the rst vat, and after proper treatment they may be u sed for various purposes Well known in the arts.

The alkali solution may be used repeatedly.

upon different charges of cotton-seed, and the saline solution may also be used repeatedly, according to the amount ofk alkali deposited therein, and the quantity and strength of each solutionmay be maintained by adding water and the proper ingredient to each as it becomes weakened by use.

Vhen seed are treated in bulk or large quantity or when seed several years old are treated, agitation of the seed, the hulls, and the lint is necessary to free or release the kernels from the hulls and the entangled lint as they lie in the vat, and in the treatment of old seed more time will bc required to open the hulls and separate the kernels therefrom.

In the treatment of old seed the length of time required tri-open the hulls and separate the kernels from the hulls in the alkali solution of the strength described causes the kernels to absorb the liquid and become Waterlogged, when they will not rise to the surface of the liquid, but must be removed with the hulls and lint and subsequently separated therefrom. To prevent this effect upon the kernels, the temperature of the solution may be increased to about 190 Fahrenheit and the strength also increased to about 5 Baume and the hulls opened in less time.

For the purpose of illustration the accompanying drawing represents a diagrammatic plan View of means adapted for carrying out the invention, and in which l indicates a tank in which seed may be denuded of their hulls by subjecting them to a solution of alkali; 2, a like receptacle in which the kernels may be treated t0 a Solution, such as chlorid of sodium or common salt,.to eradicate the alkali; 3, a like receptacle for clear water in which to cleanse the kernels, and et a drier.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim isl. The process of h ulling cottonseed,which consists in subjecting the seed to a solution of alkali until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom.

2. The process of h ullin g cotton-seed, which consists in subjecting seed to a solution of alkali until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom, then subjecting the kernels hulls to a solution of alkali of about 4 Baume and of a temperature above normal until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom.

5. The process of hulling cotton-seed,wl1ich consists in subjecting seed incased in their hulls to a solution of alkali until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom, and then drying Athe kernels.

6. The process of l1 ulling cottonseed,which consists in subjecting seed incased in their hulls to a solution of alkali until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom, then subjecting the kernels to a solution ot' chlorid of sodiu n1 to eradicate the alkali,then washing the kernels and finally drying thc kernels.

7. The process ofhullingcotto11-sced,wl1ich consists in subjecting seed incased in their hulls and lint to a diluted solution of concentrated lye of commerce until the hulls open and the kernels separate therefrom, then subjecting the kernels to a solution of chlorid of sodium to eradicate the lye, and then washing the kernels.

8. The product described, whole cottonseed kernels denuded of their lint and hulls, and dried.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN MCFARLANE.

lVitnesses: j

D. C. REINOHL, W. PARKER REiNonL. 

